Proximus taps advisers to sell 300 mln euro data center unit - sources

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP

27/07/2023 15:35

By Amy-Jo Crowley and Andres Gonzalez
       LONDON, July 27 (Reuters) - Belgian telecoms group
Proximus  PROX.BR  is studying options  for its data center unit
including a sale, as it seeks to capitalise on growing demand
for key infrastructure assets across Europe, three people
familiar with the matter said.
    Proximus, with a market value of 2.5 billion euros ($2.8
billion), has drafted in bankers to work on the sale which could
value the data center unit in the region of 300 million euros,
the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
    Proceeds from the sale could help Proximus fund investment
in more core areas of its business, including 5G and fibre
network rollouts, the first person added. 
    A Proximus spokesperson said in a emailed statement to
Reuters it "regularly evaluates" its portfolio of assets
including its data center unit. 
    "No definitive decisions have been taken today on the nature
or scope of these further divestments," the spokesperson added. 
    A sale process is expected to kick off later this year,
targeting deep-pocketed infrastructure investors that seek to
deploy capital in Europe, the people said, cautioning the plans
may still be changed or dropped.
    Proximus, whose largest shareholder is the Belgian
government with a 53% stake, operates data centers in Brussels
for corporates to host their IT systems and applications. In
2021, it signed a deal with India’s HCL Technologies to manage
and upgrade its data center infrastructure.
    The unit’s annual earnings before interest, tax,
depreciation and amortisation is estimated to be 20 million
euros, and it could fetch about 300 million euros, in the event
of a sale, the second person said.
    Europe has seen infrastructure investors compete for a slice
of the continent’s largest data centre firms, partly because of
their stable cash yield and long-term contracts. 
    In April, Brookfield Infrastructure acquired French data
centre group Data4 in a deal said to have valued the company at
close to 3.5 billion euros, including debt.
    The owners of Spanish data center group Nabiax are exploring
a sale of the group that could value it at close to 1 billion
euros, Reuters reported this month. 
    As part of its strategy to grow international carrier
services, Proximus is in advanced talks to buy French
communications firm Tofane for about 100-150 million euros,
according to the first person. In a potential deal, Proximus
would combine Tofane with its international carrier business
BICS, the person added. 
    The spokesperson for Proximus declined to comment on the
deal but said it continually reviews investment opportunities
and often talks to companies and managers to explore potential
areas of investment in a mutual areas of interest. Tofane did
not respond to requests for comment. 
    Proximus earlier this month acquired Indian cloud
communication service provider Route Mobile Ltd. for 59.22
billion rupees ($721 million) to gain a foothold in high-growth
markets. It is releasing its second quarter results on Friday. 
    ($1 = 0.9029 euros)

 (Reporting by Amy-Jo Crowley and Andres Gonzalez
Editing by Mark Potter)
 ((Amy-Jo.Crowley@thomsonreuters.com;))